Remote control method and system, vehicle with remote controllable function, and control server

ABSTRACT

A remote control method for remotely controlling the operation of equipment furnished in a vehicle in response to a remote control request generated by a remote controller is provided. The method comprises the steps of (a) acquiring vehicle status information from the vehicle; (b) determining whether to operate particular vehicle equipment designated by the remote control request based on the vehicle status information; and (c) regulating the remote control request based on the determination result representing acceptability of remote-control operation of the requested vehicle equipment.

This is a Continuation Application of application Ser. No. 11/579,452filed Nov. 2, 2006, which is a National Phase of Application No.PCT/JP2005/024192 filed Dec. 22, 2005 and which the claims benefit ofJapanese Patent application No. 2005-004369 field Jan. 11, 2005. Thedisclosure of the prior applications are hereby incorporated byreference herein in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to a remote control techniqueand a vehicle with a remote-controllable function, and moreparticularly, to a technique for operating vehicle equipment remotely inresponse to a request from a handy or mobile terminal device manipulatedby a user of the vehicle.

Conventionally, a remote control system, which includes a controlcenter, a vehicle with prescribed equipment (e.g., power doorlock/unlock), and a mobile terminal to be manipulated by a user of thevehicle, is known. See, for example, JP-A 2003-41821. In this system,when a request for activating vehicle equipment is input to the mobileterminal by the user of the vehicle, a request signal is transmitted tothe control center. Upon receiving the request signal, the centertransmits a driving signal to the vehicle to activate the vehicleequipment provided that a prescribed condition is satisfied. Then thedriving signal causes the vehicle equipment to operate. With thissystem, the vehicle equipment can be operated remotely simply bymanipulating the mobile terminal even if the user of the vehicle is awayfrom the vehicle.

The prescribed condition to be satisfied to transmit a driving signalfrom the control center to the vehicle is, for example, whetherpermission for operating the vehicle equipment has been acquired inadvance from the owner of the vehicle. Accordingly, as long as thepermission has been obtained, the center transmits the driving signal inresponse to every request from the mobile terminal. Some problems arisefrom this arrangement.

Multiple activation requests conflicting with each other may be made tothe same vehicle equipment, or the same driving signal is transmittedrepeatedly to the vehicle in response to requests from different mobileterminals. In addition, when the mobile terminal makes a request foroperating particular vehicle equipment, that equipment may be actuallyin use in the vehicle. If, in such situations, a driving signal istransmitted from the center in response to every activation request,vehicle equipment may be operated in an undesirable manner contrary tothe intention of a person who is actually using the equipment in thevehicle or a person who has remotely requested a particular operation ofthat vehicle equipment. What is worse is that the person who is actuallyusing the equipment or the person who has made a remote control requestmay not recognize that the unwanted operation is occurring.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention was conceived in view of the above-describedproblems in the prior art, and the invention provides a remote controlsystem and a vehicle with a device capable of appropriately dealing withthe remote-control operations of vehicle equipment. This can be realizedby, for example, adjusting or regulating multiple driving requests madeto same vehicle equipment based on the current state of that vehicleequipment.

In one aspect of the invention, a remote control method for remotelycontrolling operation of equipment furnished in a vehicle in response toa remote control request generated by a remote controller is provided.The method includes the steps of:

(a) acquiring vehicle status information from the vehicle;

(b) determining whether to operate particular vehicle equipmentdesignated by the remote control request based on the vehicle statusinformation; and

(c) regulating the remote control request based on the determinationresult representing acceptability of remote-control operation of therequested vehicle equipment.

In a first preferred example, the remote control method further includesthe steps of:

(d) transmitting the remote control request from the remote controllerto a control center;

(e) acquiring at the control center the vehicle status information formthe vehicle;

(f) determining at the control center whether to operate the vehicleequipment based on whether the vehicle status information satisfies aprescribed condition; and

(g) transmitting a remote control instruction from the control center tothe vehicle if the prescribed condition is satisfied.

With this arrangement, the control center makes determination whether toprocess the current remote control request based on the vehicle statusinformation.

In a second preferred embodiment, the remote control method furtherincludes the steps of:

(d) acquiring at the remote controller the vehicle status informationfrom the vehicle;

-   -   (e) determining at the remote controller whether to operate the        vehicle equipment based on whether the received vehicle status        information satisfies a prescribed condition; and        (f) transmitting the remote control request from the remote        controller to the vehicle if the vehicle status information        satisfies the prescribed condition.

With this arrangement, the remote controller makes determination whetherto transmit the current remote control request to the vehicle.

In a third preferred example, the remote control method of furtherincludes the steps of:

(d) transmitting the remote control request from the remote controllerto the vehicle;

(e) detecting at the vehicle a vehicle status;

(f) determining at the vehicle whether to operate the vehicle equipmentbased on whether the detected vehicle status satisfies a prescribedcondition; and

(g) executing the remote control request if the prescribed condition issatisfied.

With this arrangement, the vehicle determines whether to activate therequested vehicle equipment.

In a fourth preferred example, the remote control method furtherincludes the steps of:

(d) acquire at the remote controller first vehicle status informationfrom the vehicle:

(e) determining at the remote controller whether the first vehiclestatus information satisfies a first condition;

(f) transmitting the remote control request to the vehicle if the firstvehicle status information satisfies the first condition;

(g) acquiring at the vehicle second vehicle status information;

(h) determining at the vehicle whether the second vehicle statusinformation satisfies a second condition; and

(i) executing the remote control request if the second condition issatisfied.

With this arrangement, the determination process is split between theremote controller and the vehicle.

In the second aspect of the invention, a remote control system includinga remote controller and a vehicle and configured to remotely controlvehicle equipment according to a remote control request generated by theremote controller is provided. In this system, (a) the remote controllerhas a remote control request generation unit configured to generate aremote control request in response to user's manipulation, (b) thevehicle has a vehicle status detection unit configured to detect a localoperation state in the vehicle and a prior remote control result withrespect to particular vehicle equipment, and (c) at least one of theremote controller and the vehicle has a remote control requestdetermination unit configured to determine whether to activate theparticular vehicle equipment according to the remote control requestbased on at least one of the local operation state and the prior remotecontrol result.

In the third aspect of the invention, a control server used in a remotecontrol system and provided between a vehicle and a remote controller isprovided. The control server comprises:

(a) a vehicle status information acquiring unit configured to acquirevehicle status information from the vehicle;

(b) a remote control request determination unit configured to determinewhether to activate prescribed equipment furnished in the vehicle basedon the vehicle status information when receiving a remote controlrequest from the remote controller; and

(c) a remote control instruction generation unit configured to generatedand supply a remote control instruction to the vehicle if the vehiclestatus information represents that there is no other competitive remotecontrol request with respect to the particular equipment.

In the fourth aspect of the invention, a vehicle with a remotecontrollable function is provided. The vehicle comprises:

(a) a vehicle status detection unit configured to detect a vehiclestatus including a local operation state in the vehicle and a priorremote control result;

(b) a remote control request determination unit configured to determinewhether to activate prescribed vehicle equipment based on the detectedvehicle status when receiving a remote control request generated by aremote controller; and

(c) an actuator configured to actuate the prescribed vehicle equipmentif the vehicle status condition satisfies a prescribed condition.

With the above-described arrangements, remote-control operations areappropriately executed through adjustment of multiple competing requestsmade to the same vehicle equipment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become moreapparent from the following detailed description when read inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a remote control system accordingto the first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a control routine executed by the controlcenter in the remote control system according to the first embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of a modification of the remotecontrol system of the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a control routine executed by avehicle-mounted terminal device in the remote control system accordingto the second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram of a modification of the remotecontrol system of the second embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a control routine implemented in theremote control system according to the third embodiment of theinvention; and

FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram showing a modification of the thirdembodiment.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The preferred embodiments of the present invention are described belowwith reference to the attached drawings.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a remote control system accordingto the first embodiment of the invention. The remote control systemincludes a terminal device 10 mounted in a vehicle (referred to as a“vehicle-mounted terminal device”), a mobile terminal 12 (e.g., acellular phone, a personal computer, or a PDA) carried by an authorizeduser of the vehicle (such as a driver or an owner of the vehicle) andfunctioning as a remote controller, and a control center or server 14(hereinafter simply referred to as “center 14”) that manages informationneeded for remote-control operations between the mobile terminal 12 andthe vehicle-mounted terminal device 10. With the remote control system,equipment furnished in the vehicle (referred to as “vehicle equipment”)is operated or activated remotely via the center 14 based onmanipulation of the mobile terminal 12. One or more mobile terminals 12may be used for a vehicle.

The vehicle-mounted terminal device 10 has a vehicle electronic controlunit (ECU) 20, which unit implements software programs stored in advancein a memory device, such as a ROM. The vehicle ECU 20 also storesvehicle identification information and the telephone number of thecenter 14 in a memory (not shown), and has a vehicle status detectionunit 20 a for detecting the vehicle status (which will be described indetail in conjunction with FIG. 2). The vehicle ECU 20 is connected to atransmitter/receiver 22 to perform wireless communication with thecenter 14 via a prescribed communication network. Thetransmitter/receiver 22 transmits information about the vehicle from thevehicle-mounted terminal device 10 to the center 14, and receivesinformation from the center 14 via the communication network. Thevehicle ECU 20 supplies data items to be transmitted to thetransmitter/receiver 22, and receives data items from thetransmitter/receiver 22. The vehicle ECU 20 is connected to variousdriving control units, including engine start ECU 24, windowopening/closing ECU 26, and door-control ECU 28, for controlling vehicleequipment furnished in the vehicle. When the transmitter/receiver 22receives a vehicle equipment activating instruction from the center 14,the vehicle ECU 20 supplies an activation signal to the engine start ECU24, the window opening/closing ECU 26, or the door-control ECU 28 asappropriate. The details of the activating instruction supplied from thecenter 14 are described below.

The engine start ECU 24 is connected to an actuator (not shown), and itturns on the actuator to start the engine when the associated activationsignal is supplied from the vehicle ECU 20 and when the ignition switchis turned on to perform starter-on. The window opening/closing ECU 26 isconnected to an actuator (not shown) for opening and closing each doorwindow, and it turns on the actuator to open or close the window whenthe associated activation signal is supplied from the vehicle ECU 20 orwhen the power-window button is depressed in the vehicle. Thedoor-control ECU 28 is connected to an actuator (not shown) for lockingor unlocking each car door, and it locks or unlocks the car door whenthe associated activation signal is supplied from the vehicle ECU 20 orwhen door-lock or door-unlock operation is performed in the vehicle.

Next, explanation is made of “remote operations” of vehicle equipmentperformed in response to a remote control request transmitted from themobile terminal 12 via the center 14 to the vehicle-mounted terminaldevice 10, as well as “local operations” performed by a person in ornear the vehicle manually or electrically.

In using the vehicle with the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10, a carkey carried by the driver may be used, in addition to the mobileterminal 12, to lock or unlock the car door, or to switch the ignition.The car key may be a mechanical key, or alternatively, a wireless key ora smart key that transmits radio signals to activate necessary functionsin response to the user's manipulation or in response to request signalsfrom the vehicle.

The mobile terminal 12 has a mobile electronic control unit (ECU) 30.The mobile ECU 30 operates according to the software program stored inadvance in a memory device, e.g., a ROM. The mobile ECU 30 also storesidentification information of the mobile terminal 12 and the vehicle,the telephone number of the center 14, etc., in a memory.

The mobile ECU 30 is connected to a transmitter/receiver 32 to performwireless communication with the center 14 via a prescribed communicationnetwork. The transmitter/receiver 22 transmits information about themobile terminal 12 to the center 14, and receives information from thecenter 14 via the communication network. The mobile ECU supplies dataitems to be transmitted to the transmitter/receiver 32, and receivesdata items from the transmitter/receiver 32.

The mobile ECU 30 is connected to the input/output unit 34 that receivesinput commands manipulated by the user of the vehicle and outputsinformation to be displayed to the user. The mobile terminal 12 has aWeb browser to acquire a Web page of the center 14, through which themobile terminal 12 can request a remote operation of vehicle equipment.The mobile terminal 12 can browse the files and data stored in anexternal Web server and can transmit information to the Web server viathe communication network, through manipulation of the input/output unit34.

The center 14 has a high-performance host computer 40 which includes avehicle status information acquisition unit 40 a, a remote controlrequest determination unit 40 b, and a remote control instructiongeneration unit 40 c. The host computer 40 operates according to thesoftware program stored in advance in a memory device, such as a ROM.The host computer 40 is connected to a high-capacity database 42, inwhich user ID information, the e-mail address and the telephone numberof the mobile terminal 12, vehicle ID information, and the vehicletelephone number are stored in association with each authorized user.

The host computer 40 is also connected to a transmitter/receiver 44 toperform wireless communication with the vehicle-mounted terminal device12 and the mobile terminal 10 via a communication network. Thetransmitter/receiver 44 transmits information of the center 14 to thevehicle-mounted terminal device 10 and the mobile terminal 12, andreceives information from the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10 and themobile terminal 12, via the communication network. The host computer 40supplies and receives data to and from the transmitter/receiver 44.

Next, explanation is made of the basic operations of the remote controlsystem of the first embodiment. The user of the vehicle starts the Webbrowser by manipulating the input/output unit 34 of the mobile terminal12 at a location away from the vehicle to perform a specific operation,such as starting the engine to warm the machine, closing or opening thecar window completely or partially, or locking or unlocking the cardoor. The remote-control locking or window-closing is effective forburglar-proofing when forgetting to close or lock the window and/or thedoor. The center 14 stores necessary formats required to remotelyoperate the vehicle equipment in response to the manipulation of themobile terminal 12.

When a prescribed manipulation is performed by the car user with the Webbrowser opened, the mobile terminal 12 connects itself to the center 14via the wireless communication network, and requests the center 14 totransmit a Web page through which remote-control operations are to beperformed. The center 14 transmits the Web page to the mobile terminal12 in response to the request. Thus, the mobile terminal 12 acquires thenecessary Web page from the center 14.

The Web page exhibits remote-control items operative by manipulation ofthe mobile terminal 12. The user can select a desired item by clickingthe check box. Based on the status of the check boxes, the mobileterminal 12 determines which remote-control item is currently requestedby the user. When the user makes a transmission request after theselection of a certain remote-control item, the mobile terminal 12transmits a remote-control request to the center 14 to activate vehicleequipment corresponding to the checked item.

Upon receiving the remote-control request from the mobile terminal 12through the Web page, the center 14 specifies the vehicle equipment onwhich remote activation is currently requested. The center 14 connectsitself to the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10 via the wirelesscommunication network as necessary, and transmits a remote-controlinstruction to the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10, reporting that aremote-control operation on the particular vehicle equipment iscurrently requested by the user. Upon receiving the remote-controlinstruction from the center 14, the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10identifies the vehicle equipment to be remotely controlled, andactivates the equipment as necessary.

Having implemented the remote-control operation requested by the mobileterminal 12, the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10 determines whetherthe requested operation has been normally completed or terminatedwithout completion, and reports the remote control result to the center14. If the remote-control operation has not been normally completed, thedata of the error operation, in-car video images taken by a camera, orsound captured by a microphone may be reported to the center, togetherwith the determination result, to allow the user of the vehicle todetermine the reason. Upon receiving the determination result from thevehicle-mounted terminal device 10, the center 14 reports thedetermination result to the mobile terminal 12 by e-mail or othersuitable means. The mobile terminal 12 displays the determination resulton the display panel of the input/output unit 34 or output from thespeaker to let the user know the operation result.

In this manner, desired car equipment can be remotely operated throughmanipulation of the mobile terminal 12 by the user because the remotecontrol request is supplied from the mobile terminal 12 through thecenter 14 to the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10. The user of thevehicle can remotely activate the vehicle equipment while beingsomewhere away from the vehicle. Even if the user forgets to operatecertain equipment when he/she leaves the car, the equipment can beremotely operated in the desired state through manipulation of themobile terminal 12.

Two or more mobile terminals 12 may be used for a single vehicle. Inthis case, competitive remote control requests may be made almostsimultaneously by the mobile terminals 12 to activate same equipment(for example a door-lock/unlock actuator). In addition, the vehicleequipment may be being operated locally in the vehicle when the remotecontrol request is generated by the mobile terminal 12. In other words,remote-control operation and local operation may compete against eachother, which may cause conflicting operating instructions going to thesame equipment.

If the vehicle equipment is activated in response to all the operationrequests, the vehicle equipment may begin to operate against theintentions of the user who is remotely controlling or locally operatingthe vehicle. To overcome this problem, in the situation where multipleactivation requests are made to the same vehicle equipment, the requestsare adjusted to appropriately perform the requested remote-controloperations. This is explained below in conjunction with FIG. 2.

For example, if a second remote control request is generated withrespect to certain vehicle equipment before the previous (first) requestmade to that equipment has been completed in the vehicle, it isdesirable not to accept the second request in view of the purpose of thefirst user. If certain equipment is being operated in the vehicle when aremote-control operation request is made to the same equipment, it isdesirable to give priority to the local operation, rather thanimmediately accepting the remote control request from the mobileterminal 12, in view of the purpose of the user actually working on theequipment in or around the vehicle.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a control routine executed by the host computer40 of the center 14 according to the first embodiment. When the center14 receives a remote control request for activating certain vehicleequipment from the mobile terminal 12 (step 100), it is determined atthe remote control request determination unit 40 b whether the priorconditions for performing the requested remote-control operation aresatisfied. The prior conditions are, for example, that a local operationis not being performed on the target equipment in the vehicle, and thatno other competitive request is made for the same equipment, at the timewhen the current remote control request is generated at the mobileterminal 12 or received at the center 14.

To this end, the vehicle status information acquisition unit 40 aacquires vehicle status information (including local operationinformation and prior remote control result information as to therequested equipment) to allow the remote control request determinationunit 40 b to determine whether a local operation is being performed onthe requested equipment in the vehicle (step 102). For example, thevehicle status information acquisition unit 40 a requests thevehicle-mounted terminal device 10 to transmit the information about thelocal operation of the requested equipment to the center 12 uponreceiving the remote control request from the mobile terminal 12. Inthis step, the center 14 may request local operation information aboutall the remotely controllable vehicle equipment. In response to thelocal operation information request from the center 14, the vehiclestatus detection unit 20 a of the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10detects whether a local operation is being performed on the requestedequipment, which information is transmitted from thetransmitter/receiver 22 to the center 14. In this example, thevehicle-mounted terminal device 10 transmits the vehicle statusinformation in response to the vehicle status information request fromthe center 14, and the center 14 transmits the vehicle statusinformation request in response to the remote control request from themobile terminal 12.

The center 14 also determines in step 102 whether there is any othercompetitive remote control request by checking whether a prior remotecontrol result with respect to the same vehicle equipment has beenreceived from the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10. If a similarremote-control operation is requested from one or more mobile terminals12, it is unnecessary to perform the same operation for the currentremote control request. If conflicting operations are requested atsimilar times, the earliest request should be executed and it isinappropriate to perform the subsequent requests. The previousremote-control operation result is also included in the vehicle statusinformation in the first embodiment.

Then, the remote control request determination unit 40 b of the center14 determines whether to transmit a remote control instruction to thevehicle-mounted terminal device 10 by determining whether a localoperation is being performed on the currently requested vehicleequipment based on local operation information (contained in the vehiclestatus information) supplied from the vehicle-mounted terminal device10, or by determining whether multiple remote control requests arecompeting against each other based on presence or absence of previousremote-control operation results with respect to the same vehicleequipment (step S104).

If the center 14 determines that there is no local operation beingperformed and no other competitive remote control request for the sameequipment (NO in S104), the current remote control request is accepted(step 106). In this case, the remote control instruction generation unit40 c generates a remote control instruction, and the center 14 transmitsthe remote control instruction via a wireless communication network tothe vehicle-mounted terminal device 10 so as to indicate the operationto be performed on specific equipment (step 108). Upon receiving theremote control instruction, the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10activates the vehicle equipment according to the instruction.

If it is determined at the center 14 that a local operation is beingperformed or another competitive remote control request exists (YES inS104), the current remote control request is not accepted (step 110). Inthis case, the center 14 reports the unaccepted result to the mobileterminal 12 (step 112). Upon receipt of the unaccepted result from thecenter, the mobile terminal 12 displays the result on the display panelof the input/output unit 34 or outputs it as sound from the speaker tolet the user know the result.

In this example, upon receipt of the remote control request from themobile terminal 12 requesting activation of specific vehicle equipment,the center 14 transmits a remote control instruction to thevehicle-mounted terminal device 10 provided that there is no localoperation being performed on the target equipment in the vehicle, andthat there is no other competitive remote control request for thatvehicle equipment. On the other hand, if a local operation is beingperformed on the requested equipment in the vehicle, or if anotherremote control request is made to the same equipment and the previouslyrequested remote control operation has not been completed, then thecenter 14 does not transmit a remote control instruction for thecurrently requested operation to the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10.

In other words, if there is a person who is actually operating certainvehicle equipment in the vehicle or a person who has previouslyrequested remote-control operation of that vehicle equipment usinganother mobile terminal, the current remote control request generated bythe mobile terminal 12 is not accepted, avoiding an overlapping orconflicting operation. Undesirable situations where the currentlyperformed local operation or remote-control operation is suddenlydisturbed by a new or interrupting remote control request withoutperception of the locally operating or remotely controlling person areavoided. By adjusting multiple activation requests on the same vehicleequipment depending on the vehicle status information, the currentremote control request generated by the mobile terminal 12 can beappropriately processed.

Since with the system of the first embodiment acceptability of thecurrent remote control request from the mobile terminal 12 is determinedat the center 14, the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10 can besimplified and the cost can be reduced. In addition, the number of hopsbetween the determination site and the mobile terminal 12 can be reducedas compared with furnishing the determination function in the vehicle,and therefore, the remote control result (indicating whether the requesthas been accepted) can be returned to the mobile terminal 12 promptly toinform the user of the mobile terminal 12 of the result.

In addition, the center 14 transmits a request for local operationinformation to the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10 only when thecenter 14 receives the remote control request from the mobile terminal12, and the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10 transmits the localoperation information only when it receives the request from the center14 in the above-described example. This arrangement can reduce thefrequency of transmission of local operation information from thevehicle-mounted terminal device 10 to the center 14. Consequently, thetraffic between the vehicle and the center 14 and the telecommunicationcharge can be reduced, as compared with constant transmission. However,of course, the local operation information may be transmitted from thevehicle-mounted terminal device 10 to the center 14 at constantintervals.

In the first embodiment, the center (or the control server) 14 has avehicle status information acquiring unit 40 a that acquires vehiclestatus information (including local operation information and priorremote control result information) from the vehicle, and a remotecontrol request determination unit 40 b that determines whether totransmit a remote control instruction to the vehicle based on thevehicle status information. If the determination result is affirmative,a remote control instruction is generated at the remote controlinstruction generation unit 40 c and transmitted to the vehicle-mountedterminal device 10.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of a modification of the remotecontrol system of the first embodiment, in which modification the center14 is removed so as to perform direct communication between the mobileterminal 12 and the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10. In this case,when the user manipulates the mobile terminal 12 in a prescribed manner,the vehicle status information acquisition unit 30 c generates a requestfor vehicle status information, which request is transmitted directly tothe vehicle-mounted terminal device 10. The vehicle status informationacquisition unit 30 c also determines whether remote control results ofother remote control requests for the same vehicle equipment have beentransmitted from the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10. Then, theremote control request determination unit 30 b of the mobile terminal 12determines whether to transmit a remote control request to thevehicle-mounted terminal device 10.

If there is no local operation being performed, and if there is no othercompetitive remote control request, then the mobile terminal 12transmits a remote control request generated by the remote controlrequest generation unit 30 a. On the other hand, if local operation isbeing performed in the vehicle, or if a previously requested remotecontrol operation exists and it has not been completed, then the remotecontrol request determination unit 30 b withholds transmitting a remotecontrol request, while outputting the determination result through theinput/output unit 34.

This modification also has an advantage of appropriate adjustment amongmultiple remote control requests and a local operation. Sinceacceptability of remote control operation for certain vehicle equipmentis determined at the mobile terminal 12 based on the vehicle statusinformation acquired from the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10, theuser can know the remote control result promptly, as in the previouslydescribed example.

The local operation information may be transmitted at constant intervalsfrom the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10 to the mobile terminal 12,instead of or in addition to the receipt of the vehicle statusinformation request from the mobile terminal 12.

Second Embodiment

In the second embodiment, acceptability of a remote control request isdetermined at the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10, instead of atcenter 14, based on the detected vehicle status information (includinglocal operation information and prior remote control resultinformation). In this case, the vehicle-mounted ECU 20 performs aroutine shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a control routine executed by thevehicle-mounted ECU 20 of the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10according to the second embodiment. When the center 14 receives a remotecontrol request for activating certain vehicle equipment from the mobileterminal 12, the center transmits a remote control instruction to thevehicle-mounted terminal device 10, and the vehicle-mounted terminaldevice 10 receives the remote control instruction from the center 14 viaa wireless communication network (step 200). The center 14 functions asa gateway that transfers the remote control request from the mobileterminal 12 to the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10.

Upon receiving the remote control instruction from the center 14, thevehicle-mounted terminal device 10 detects a vehicle status including alocal operation state and a remote control result of a competitiveremote control request with respect to the requested equipment (step202). Then, the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10 determines whether toexecute the requested remote-control operation on the requested vehicleequipment based on the vehicle status detection result (step 204). To bemore precise, the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10 determines whethera local operation is being performed at or near the receipt of theremote control instruction, and whether there are any other competitiveremote control requests occurring for the same vehicle equipment.

If it is determined that there is no local operation being performed andno other competitive remote control request for the same equipment (NOin S204), the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10 accepts the currentremote control request (step 206), and executes the remote controlrequest according to the instruction (step 208). Then thevehicle-mounted terminal device 10 transmits the current remote controlresult to the center 14 via the wireless communication network (step210). On the other hands, if it is determined that a local operation oranother competitive remote control request exists (YES in S204), thevehicle-mounted terminal device 10 does not accept the current remotecontrol request (step 212). In this case, the vehicle-mounted terminaldevice 10 reports the unaccepted result to the center 14 (step 214).

When receiving the remote control result or the unaccepted result fromthe vehicle-mounted terminal device 10, the center 14 reports the resultto the mobile terminal 12. Upon receipt of the remote control result orthe unaccepted result from the center 14, the mobile terminal 12displays the result on the display panel of the input/output unit 34 oroutputs it as sound from the speaker to let the user know the result.

In this example, upon receipt of the remote control instruction from thecenter 14, which instruction reflects the remote control request fromthe mobile terminal 12, the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10 executesthe requested operation on the requested equipment provided that thereis no local operation being performed on the same equipment, and thatthere is no other competitive remote control request occurring at thesame equipment. On the other hand, if a local operation is beingperformed on the requested equipment, or if another remote controlrequest is made for the same equipment and the previously requestedremote control operation has not been completed, then thevehicle-mounted terminal device 10 does not perform the requestedremote-control operation.

In other words, if there is a person who is actually operating certainvehicle equipment in the vehicle or a person who has previouslyrequested a remote-control operation on that vehicle equipment usinganother mobile terminal, the current remote control request generated bythe mobile terminal 12 is not accepted, avoiding an overlapping orconflicting operation. Undesirable situations where the currentlyperformed local operation or remote-control operation is suddenlydisturbed by a new or interrupting remote control request withoutperception of the locally operating or remotely controlling person. Byadjusting multiple activation requests on same vehicle equipmentdepending on the vehicle status information, the current remote controlrequest generated by the mobile terminal 12 can be appropriatelyprocessed.

Since with the system of the second embodiment acceptability of thecurrent remote control request from the mobile terminal 12 is determinedat the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10, the structure of the center14 can be simplified. In addition, since the determination site is veryclose to the vehicle equipment to be operated, the response time takenfrom the determination to the actual activation can be shortened.

Unlike the first embodiment, it is unnecessary for the system of thesecond embodiment to report the vehicle status information, includingthe detected local operation state and prior remote control resultinformation, to the center 14. This arrangement can reduce traffic andtelecommunication charges between the vehicle and the center 14, ascompared with the first embodiment.

Since the center 14 functions only as a gateway to transfer the remotecontrol request from the mobile terminal 12 to the vehicle-mountedterminal device 10, it is unnecessary for the center 14 to perform dataprocessing according to the conditions of each vehicle. This arrangementis especially advantageous when the structure of the remote-controlledequipment or the prior condition for the remote-control operation variesdepending on the manufacturer. Because such a difference does not haveto be considered when transmitting a remote control instruction from thecenter 14 to the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10, a remote controlsystem can be independent of the types and the manufacturers of thevehicles.

In the above-described example, the vehicle-mounted ECU 20 of thevehicle-mounted terminal device 10 has a remote control requestdetermination unit, in addition to the vehicle status detection unit 20a.

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram showing a modification of the remotecontrol system of the second embodiment, in which modification thecenter 14 is removed so as to perform direct communication between themobile terminal 12 and the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10. In thiscase, when the user manipulates the mobile terminal 12 in a prescribedmanner, the mobile terminal 12 transmits a remote control requestgenerated by the remote control request generation unit 30 a to thevehicle-mounted terminal device 10. Upon receiving the remote controlrequest, the vehicle status detection unit 20 a of the vehicle-mountedterminal device 10 detects the vehicle status, including the localoperation state and the remote control result for previous remotecontrol requests with respect to the same target vehicle equipment.Then, the remote control request determination unit 20 b determineswhether to carry out the requested remote-control operation based on thedetected vehicle status representing whether a local operation is beingperformed or whether other competitive remote control requests are beingprocessed for the same vehicle equipment. Depending on the determinationresult, the current remote control request is executed or unaccepted.

This modification also has an advantage of appropriate adjustment amongmultiple remote control requests and a local operation. Sinceacceptability of a remote control operation for certain vehicleequipment is determined at the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10 basedon the detected vehicle status, the mobile terminal 12 can be simplifiedwithout requiring a design change or installation of additionalfunctions.

The local operation information may be transmitted at constant intervalsfrom the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10 to the mobile terminal 12,instead of or in addition to the receipt of the vehicle statusinformation request from the mobile terminal 12.

Third Embodiment

In the first and second embodiments, determination as to acceptabilityof currently requested remote-control operation is made at a singlesite, that is, at center 14, vehicle-mounted terminal device 10, ormobile terminal 12, based on local operation information and priorremote control results of other competitive remote control requests. Inthe third embodiment, determination as to acceptability of a currentremote control request based on presence or absence of other competitiveremote control requests is performed at the center 14, while remotecontrol acceptability determination based on local operation informationis performed at the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a control routine executed in a remotecontrol system according to the third embodiment of the invention. Uponreceiving a remote control request with respect to certain vehicleequipment from the mobile terminal 12 (step 300), the center 14determines whether there is any other competitive remote control requestfor the same equipment by checking whether the remote control result ofa previous remote control request for that vehicle equipment has beenreceived (step 302).

Based on the determination result, the center determines whether totransmit a remote control instruction to the vehicle-mounted terminaldevice 10. That is, if there is one or more competitive remote controlrequests (YES in S302), the center does not accept the current remotecontrol request this time (step 304), and reports the unaccepted resultto the mobile terminal 12 (step 306). The mobile terminal 12 outputs theresult on the display panel or from the speaker to let the user know theresult.

On the other hand, if no other competitive remote control request exists(NO in S302), the center 14 accepts the current remote control request(step 308) and transmits a remote control instruction for the currentlyrequested vehicle equipment to the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10(step 310).

Upon receiving the remote control instruction (step 320), thevehicle-mounted terminal device 10 detects the local operation state(step 322), and determines whether to execute the remote controlinstruction based on the detection result by determining whether therequested vehicle equipment is being operated (step 324).

If the currently requested equipment is not being used in the vehicle(NO in S324), the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10 accepts the remotecontrol instruction (step 326) and activates the vehicle equipmentaccording to the instruction (step 328). The remote control result isthen transmitted from the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10 to thecenter 14 via the wireless communication network (step 330). On theother hand, if a local operation is being performed on the requestedequipment (YES in S324), the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10 does notaccept the remote control instruction (step 332) and transmits theunaccepted result to the center 14 (step 334).

The center 14 receives either the remote-control operation result or therequest unaccepted result (step 340), and sends an e-mail to the mobileterminal 12 to report the remote-control operation result or theunaccepted result to the user. Upon receiving the e-mail, the mobileterminal 12 displays the result on the display panel or outputs theresult as sound from the speaker.

In this manner, in the third embodiment, if there is no othercompetitive remote control request, the center transmits the remotecontrol instruction to the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10 toactivate the vehicle equipment. If there is another competitive requestthat has not been completed yet, the current remote control request isnot accepted so as to prevent contradictory or competing operations ofthe same vehicle equipment.

When the remote control instruction is transmitted from the center 14 tothe vehicle-mounted terminal device 10, the vehicle-mounted terminaldevice 10 executes or does not execute the instruction depending on thelocal operation state. If a local operation is not being performed onthat equipment, the equipment is activated according to the instruction.If the requested equipment is being operated in the vehicle, theinstruction is declined so as to prevent contradictory or competingoperations.

Because a current remote control request is not carried out if a localoperation is being performed on the requested equipment or a competitiveremote control request for that equipment is being processed, suddeninterruption or undesired (or contradictory) operation for thatequipment can be prevented. Consequently, appropriate remote control ofvehicle equipment using one or more mobile terminals 12 is realizedthrough adjustment of multiple requests (including non-acceptance ofsome remote control requests).

In this embodiment the acceptability determination for the currentremote control request is split between two sites, at the center 14 andthe vehicle-mounted terminal device 10. When competitive remote controlrequests are occurring, unaccepted result of the current request can bereturned promptly to the mobile terminal 12 because the route from theacceptability determination site, e.g., the center 14, to the mobileterminal 12 is short. If the remote control request is competing againsta local operation being performed on the same equipment, thedetermination result can be acquired promptly because the route from thedetermination site (vehicle-mounted terminal device 10) and therequested equipment is short. Consequently, the response time taken fromthe determination to the activation of the equipment can be shortened.

Since the remote control acceptability determination based on the localoperation state is performed at the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10,it is unnecessary to transmit the local operation information to thecenter 14. The traffic and telecommunication charges between thevehicle-mounted terminal device 10 and the center 14 can be reduced, asin the second embodiment.

In the third embodiment, both the center 14 and the vehicle-mountedterminal device 10 have remote control request determination units, buteach determination is performed based on a different factor (that is,based on the prior remote control result and the local operation state,respectively).

The center 14 may be removed from the remote control system of the thirdembodiment to allow direct communication between the mobile terminal 12and the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10, as in the first and secondembodiments.

FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram of the modification of the thirdembodiment, in which the mobile terminal 12 and the vehicle-mountedterminal device 10 have remote control request determination units 30 band 20 b, respectively. These determination units 30 b and 20 bindependently perform remote control acceptability determination basedon different factors, that is, the existence of competitive remotecontrol requests and the local operation state, respectively.

To be more precise, upon an input of a remote control request to themobile terminal 12 by the user, the mobile terminal 12 determineswhether to transmit the remote control request to the vehicle-mountedterminal device 10 by determining at the determination unit 30 b whetherthere is any other competitive remote control request (or by determiningwhether a remote control result of a competitive request on the samevehicle equipment has been transmitted from the vehicle-mounted terminaldevice 10) based on the prior remote control result acquired at thevehicle status information acquiring unit 30 c. If there is no othercompetitive remote control request, the mobile terminal 12 generates aremote control request at the remote control request generation unit 30a and transmits the request to the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10.If there is another competitive remote control request not having beencompleted, the mobile terminal 12 withholds transmitting the remotecontrol request to the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10.

Upon receiving the remote control request from the mobile terminal 12,the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10 detects the local operation stateof the requested equipment at the detection unit 20 a, and determines atthe determination unit 20 b whether to execute the remote controlrequest based on the detection result. If a local operation is not beingperformed on that equipment, the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10activates the requested equipment. If a local operation is beingperformed on that equipment, the vehicle-mounted terminal device 10 doesnot execute the current remote control request so as to prevent acontradictory or competing operation on the same vehicle equipment.

This modification can also achieve the advantage of appropriateimplementation of a remote control operation under the circumstancewhere multiple operational requests with respect to the same vehicleequipment are occurring (for example, where a driver or a passenger isactually operating the equipment in the vehicle when a user of themobile terminal is transmitting a remote control request, or where auser of a second mobile terminal has transmitted or is transmitting aremote control request for the same vehicle equipment), as in thepreviously described arrangement of the third embodiment.

The vehicle equipment to be remotely controlled is not limited to theillustrated examples, namely, the engine start actuator, the windowopening/closing actuator, and the door lock/unlock actuator. Othervehicle equipment, such as equipment for opening and closing the cardoor or the trunk (boot), equipment for opening and closing a slidingroof, equipment for turning on and off lights, or equipment for turningon and off an alarm (such as a horn or a buzzer), may be remotelycontrolled.

In addition, the remote controller is not limited to a mobile terminal,but may be a public phone or a fixed telephone set if the center 14exists between the remote controlling device and the vehicle-mountedterminal device 10. In this case, a remote control request for certainvehicle equipment can be generated and transmitted by, for example,inputting prescribed numbers.

The vehicle-mounted terminal device 10 may be attached to a vehicle in adetachable manner, or incorporated in the vehicle.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A remote control method for remotelycontrolling operation of a particular vehicle equipment furnished in avehicle in response to a remote control request generated by a remotecontroller, the method comprising: transmitting the remote controlrequest on the particular vehicle equipment from the remote controllerto a control center; acquiring a prior remote control result at thevehicle, the prior remote control result representing whether anotherremote control request has been made and completed on the particularvehicle equipment; acquiring at the control center the prior remotecontrol result from the vehicle; determining at the control centerwhether or not the prior remote control result of another remote controlrequest which has been made and completed on the particular vehicleequipment is received from the vehicle based on the prior remote controlresult; and transmitting a remote control instruction from the controlcenter to the vehicle if the prior remote control result of anotherremote control request that has been made and completed on theparticular vehicle equipment is received from the vehicle, wherein theremote control instruction is not transmitted from the control center tothe vehicle if the prior remote control result of another remote controlrequest that has been made and completed on the particular vehicleequipment has not been received from the vehicle.
 2. The remote controlmethod of claim 1, further comprising: upon receipt of the remotecontrol instruction, detecting at the vehicle a local operation state;determining at the vehicle whether to operate the vehicle equipmentbased on whether the detected local operation state satisfies theprescribed condition; and executing the remote control request if theprescribed condition is satisfied.
 3. A remote control method forremotely controlling operation of a particular vehicle equipmentfurnished in a vehicle in response to a remote control request generatedby a remote controller, the method comprising: transmitting the remotecontrol request on the particular vehicle equipment from the remotecontroller to a control center; acquiring a local operation state at thevehicle, the local operation state representing local operationperformed by a person; transmitting the local operation state from thevehicle to the control center in response to a request from the controlcenter; and determining at the control center and transmitting a remotecontrol instruction from the control center to the vehicle if there isno local operation which has been made and being performed on theparticular vehicle equipment, wherein the remote control instruction isnot transmitted from the control center to the vehicle if there is thelocal operation that has been made and being performed on the particularvehicle equipment.